How To Shoot A Rifle Accurately Tips

There are several useful tips you can follow that will help you learn how to shoot a rifle accurately:

Tip 1: Learn to Hold Your Rifle Steady Via a Prodsper Stance:

One of the best ways to increase accuracy is by being able to hold your rifle steady.
Holding a rifle steady will make it so you line your shot up better. When your rifle is moving, even a little, it is hard to predict where the bullet will land due to the constant motion. If you are holding the rifle steady, you can more accurately aim, and in turn, predict where the bullet will land.
Having a proper stance will help you hold your rifle steady because it makes it so you are less likely to wobble due to external factors such as weather, other people, and so forth.
To have a proper stance:

Make sure your feet are shoulder width apart

If you are right handed, use your left arm to support the rifle, by tucking it snug against your body (do the opposite if you are left handed)

If you are right handed, make sure to hold the rifle firm against your right shoulder, using your right hand (do the opposite if you are left handed). Be sure to not have too firm of a grip though.

Make sure to keep your elbows down and pulled in.

If you are right handed stand at a 90 degree angle to the right of your target, and vice versa if you are left handed.

Tip 2: Take a Carbine Course

A carbine course is an extended class that is sometimes held over several days. The class goes over in great detail the ins and outs of your rifle. You can take carbine classes that teach specific techniques.
There are also, more general, all-inclusive classes. Carbine courses can get pricey, but are very informative.
Proper instruction can never hurt your accuracy; it can only help improve it through technique training and practice.

Tip 3: Manage and /or Reduce Your Rifle’s Recoil

Another way to improve accuracy, is by reducing recoil. As most people know, when you shoot a rifle it tends to have a lot of ‘kick’, or recoil. Recoil is referring to the backwards momentum the rifle causes when it is fired.
Recoil can cause a lot of inaccuracies because a lot of people do not know how to handle it when they shoot. The recoil can be pretty strong with some rifles, and may surprise a shooter.
The surprise of the recoil can cause a person to flinch or pull the gun in a certain direction. Flinching and jerking the gun will cause your aim to be off. This is because when the gun is fired, it is no longer is pointing to where you had it originally aimed.
There are many ways to help you manage and reduce your rifle’s recoil, and in turn improve your accuracy:

Use a heavier gun. If you are having trouble handling the recoil on your rifle, you could try using a heavier gun. The heavier the rifle, the more it absorbs the recoil, so you have less to react to.

Make your gun heavier. If a heavier gun is too much for you, you could try adding a recoil reducer to your gun.

Buy reduced-recoil ammunition. Many companies will sell ammunition, that helps cause less recoil.

Cushion the rifle where it rests against your cheek. A lot of time recoil can be very uncomfortable, especially for the cheek. If you buy a cushion, or create padding on your own, it will make for a much better experience.

Try wearing gloves. Wearing thin, leather gloves can help so you don’t feel as much of the recoil through your hands. Many companies sell shooting gloves.

There are actually recoil-absorbing shotgun stocks that you can buy. These stocks are designed to help reduce the recoil of a shotgun.

Tip 4: Practice Positioning Your Gun

Practice makes perfect right? You can do this at the range or at home with an unloaded shotgun. What you want to do is practice bringing your shotgun up and into the correct firing position.
Getting use to the position of the shotgun will make you more comfortable with it. The more comfortable you are with your gun, the more accurate you are going to be.

Tip 5: Use A Sling

If you want to shoot a shotgun better, you may want to try using a sling. When people think of a sling they often think of using it as a way to carry their shotgun.
However, if utilized in a correct manner, it can also help you shoot better as well. When a sling is used right way it can help steady your arm by holding it tight against your body. A steady arm, is a more accurate arm.

Tip 6: Keep Both Eyes Open

Many shooters will argue that shooting with one eye closed is not a big deal. Yet, if you want to shoot a shotgun, or any gun for that matter, better, you will want to shoot it with both eyes open.
Having both eyes open allows you to see more things, and see them more clearly.
When you are hunting, or using a shotgun for home defense, the more you can see, the better.
Although it may be hard to do at first, learning to shoot with both eyes open will make you a more accurate shotgun shooter.

Tip 7: Focus on the target

When shooting a shotgun, many tend to look at the barrel of their gun too much. You want to make sure when shooting that your are focusing on the target. I great analogy to remind you of this involves baseball.
When you are the batter and someone throws you the ball, where do you look? The ball or the bat? The ball. If you looked at the end of your bat every time you most likely would miss.
The same principle applies to shooting, look at the target. Do not look at the gun.
Shooting a shotgun accurately can take some work, but with a little practice it is achievable. Remember that if you…

Learn to steady your shot by having a proper stance

Take a carbine course

Learn to manage and reduce your recoil

Practice your positioning on and off the range

Use a shotgun sling

Shoot with both eyes open

Focus on the target, not the gun

Then you are on the right track to improving your shooting accuracy. Like we mentioned in practicing in your position, practice makes perfect. The more shooting you are able to do, and the more chances you have to follow these tips with success, the better of a shooter you will be.

Final Thoughts – How To Shoot A Rifle Accurately

Remember that knowing how to shoot a rifle accurately will lead to more game caught, more clay pigeons hit, and could mean life and death in a home invasion situation. So be sure to practice, practice, practice!
Stay safe and happy shooting!

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